2014 Andrej(a) - The Documentary ✍

Andrej(a) is a feature-length documentary that traces trans supermodel Andreja Pejic’s journey.

On a snowy winter day in New York City, as I sat in my favorite Thai restaurant eating dinner with my dear friend and filmmaker Eric, along with his wife, I announced awkwardly “Eric, I have to tell you something. It’s intense. I don’t want to involve anyone else, just you. It’s very personal, I’ve told no one in the business, not even my agent. I am going to have SRS (sexual reassignment surgery) in two weeks!” 

At that point in time I didn’t have a strong desire to share what was about to happen with anyone but a few very close friends, certainly not a camera! Eric’s words changed my view forever. 

“This is a powerful part of an immensely courageous journey, we need to film this!” Eric said, his eyes beaming with excitement. “Your story is so unique. It has the potential to reach so many and to help millions of young people around the world. You need to do this! You know how many trans people (and people in general) are out there hiding, forced to live as someone they are not. You could give them hope by going public about this.” 

Eric had filmed me several times before for fashion gigs and other small pieces. If I was going to allow any camera to follow me through the most challenging period of my life, it was his. That is how this documentary was born, and since then it has become one my life’s missions. I ask you, fellow Kickstarters, to join and help me complete the film. I hope that by sharing my humanity, pain, tears, laughter, joy, and biggest struggles on film, it will shed light on what it means to live as a transgender individual. I have always believed that differences between people should not equal divisions and I simply want to create something that could help build a bridge between my community and the rest of the world. 

 - Andreja 

Andrej(a) is a feature-length documentary tracing androgynous trans supermodel Andreja Pejic’s journey from the Serbian refugee camps of her childhood to the glamorous life of international fame and fashion she now leads. Her rise to popularity past is remarkable: her ability to successfully navigate two such disparate worlds while silently struggling with gender dysphoria is even more so. In the summer of 2014, Andreja came out as a trans woman, and her life will never be the same. She’s crossed into unprecedented territory, and as she learns to navigate her post-op life and career, we’ll be along for the ride. 

Since she was a young child being raised by a single mother in a refugee camp in the Balkans, Andreja has had to hide her deepest wish, “to live life as a woman”. The justifications for that decision during her youth were many - war, a broken family, poverty - but as her fame skyrocketed, the pressures to remain a boy grew right along with it. New York Magazine’s infamous cover “The Prettiest Boy In The World” sealed the deal. If she wanted to remain a success, she had to remain a boy. Her agents said it. The press said it. The world expected it. Most importantly, her family relied on it. 

Now, Andreja has reached a major turning point. For the majority of her life, she has had to live in between the two genders. However her unique career, looks, and position between two fashion worlds could not mask her lifelong struggle with gender dysphoria. Behind closed doors, Andreja could no longer bear to pose, walk, or live as the person people expected her to be – an androgynous boy. 

When taken in social context, Andreja’s early decisions to hide are not surprising. In today’s world, the transgender community remains one of the most disadvantaged social minorities globally. Unemployment rates for trans men and women stand at twice the national average, as do poverty rates. Attempted suicide rates are one of the highest out of any other community. Furthermore, there is a deep social distrust that can make the simplest of tasks, even just going to the grocery store or seeing a movie, extremely challenging. Publicly claiming one’s truth as a transgender individual often means the loss of family, friends, careers, relationships, and, in far to many cases, lives. It is no wonder that being trans is rarely, if ever, associated with success. 

In the world of fashion, prospects are little better. The industry is no stranger to discrimination. Like everywhere else, transgender individuals are rarely treated with respect. Trans models lack the same opportunities as their cisgendered peers. The situation can be compared to the experience of African-American models, two decades ago.

Through Andreja’s life story, Andrej(a) will explore gender politics in-depth around the globe, and the beauty industry and its attitude towards diversity, will be a focal point. From a refugee camp in the Balkans to the world’s biggest runways, from boyhood to androgyny to womanhood, from hiding to the highest level of self-acceptance this documentary captures an individual whose biggest dream is to live an authentic, happy and normal life. To be accepted and respected as the person she has always known herself to be. It is a public struggle by a brave person for the most basic of human needs.

 

We have been shooting for the past two years and have captured some of the biggest milestones in Andreja’s life, including her last photo shoots as an androgynous boy, the experience around the surgery that made her feel complete, her coming out to the world as a “transgender woman,” and emotional encounters with her mother. Our goal now is to capture “life after transition.” 

How will Andreja’s personal decisions affect her career and public image?
How will the industry react to her newly disclosed truth? 
Will her personal relationships be compromised by this revelation? 

Questions like these for the most part remain unanswered, and to have a shot at answering them, it is crucial that we continue filming for another six months. To finish this project we need your help! We have turned down offers from large global networks to maintain creative control and taken the road of independent filmmaking. We felt that this was a story of immense social importance that needed to be approached in an educated, objective and truthful way, without layers of approval or requests for product placement. We wish to grow what started out as a “love project” between Eric and Andreja to a film with the potential to offer courage to millions that are not living their true identities. Together with your help, we can make this film come to life.

You might be asking why our goal is $200,000.  We want the best film possible for the lowest dollar spend. The average budget for a festival bound documentary hovers around $450,000.  With your help and funding we can cover the cost of many different aspects of the film; the licensing of photographs, music, travel for the crew to follow Andreja around the world as she works and visits her homelands, post production, production personnel, legal fees, graphics, insurance, and gear.  

As with all great projects, this is a journey starting off with subject and story that will hopefully inspire people across the globe, and the whole team thanks you in advance for pledging your support to make this documentary a reality. 

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簡單來說,Andreja要將她的這段心路歷程拍成記錄片,需要籌措資金,希望全球各地的支持者、關心這個族群的人們可以捐款,給予資金上的幫助。更詳細進一步的完整資訊我在另開一篇,否則字數會爆掉。

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靈感的來源

在一個下雪的紐約市冬日裡,我坐在我最愛的泰國餐廳與我親愛的朋友電影製片人Eric和他的妻子一同共進晚餐,然後我有點尷尬的宣布一件事"Eric,我有件事要告訴你。這有點爆炸性。我也不想讓太多人知道,但我想跟你說。這件事非常私人,我也還沒告訴經紀公司甚至是經紀人。兩週後,我要去動SRS(sexual reassignment surgery) 的手術。

在那時,我並沒有想去跟任何人分享這件即將要發生的事的強烈想法,但對一些親密一點的朋友來說,這不單單只是一個鏡頭下的產物! 而Eric的一席話改變了我的想法。

"這佔了這段勇敢旅程很大的一部分,我認為我們應該把它紀錄下來!"Eric眼神閃耀著光芒說道。"你的故事是獨一無二。而它可以幫助數百萬在世界各地躲藏自己的年輕人。你應該這麼做!你知道有多少跨性人士(和一般人)總是把自己遮掩起來,無法活出自己。你的這段歷程可以帶給他們希望。"

過去Eric和我在工作上曾合作過幾次。如果我打算讓任何鏡頭伴隨著我一起走過生命中最艱困的時刻.那非他莫屬了。這就是紀錄片誕生的開端,從那時起,這成為我人生中的任務。然後Kickstarters決定加入我們幫我完成這部紀錄片。我希望藉由分享我的humanity,疼痛、淚水、歡笑、喜悅以及奮鬥的時刻,來闡述跨性者的生活是何等樣貌。我向來認為,人與人之間的差異不該分等,而我想創造...可以幫助我的族群對世界溝通的橋梁。

- Andreja 

紀錄片的內容是?

Andrej(a)是個長篇紀錄片,從她童年在塞爾維亞的難民營到她躍上國際舞台成為知名雌雄莫辨的塞爾維亞裔模特光鮮亮麗的生活以及跨性的這段旅程。走紅的過去是如此顯著:她成功駕馭了時尚界兩個不同領域.而對性別的掙扎潛藏的焦慮更是如此。2014年的夏天,Andreja向眾人宣布了她的跨性,生活也有所轉變。她跨進了未知的道路,得學習掌控術後的生活和事業。而我們可以一起湊個熱鬧。

一個住在巴爾幹地區難民營的單親家庭,Andreja還小的時候不得不隱藏自己最渴求的願望"以女性的樣子生活著"。太多的原因決定了她的青少年時期-戰爭、家庭的破碎、貧困-即便日後名氣的高漲,壓力也隨著這個男孩一同成長。New York雜誌裡臭名昭著的封面"The Prettiest Boy In The World"被密封處理。很顯然,如果她想繼續保持成功,她就必須依舊是個男孩。她的經紀人這麼說。記者也如此報導。還有世界的期待。重要的是家庭也依靠著這個(特色)。

現在,Andreja到了重要的轉折點。過去她不得不活在兩者之間。而她事業上的獨特,外表,以及在時尚界遊走男女模之間的位置已無法再掩蓋她活在對性別的痛苦掙扎。關起門後的Andreja再也承受不了活在人們對她的期望-一個雌雄莫辨的男孩。

在這樣的位置上,初期Andreja決定隱瞞並不讓人感到訝異。就算是當今世界,跨性族群仍舊是世界裡最弱勢的群體之一。跨性別男女的失業率是全國平均的兩倍,也因為如此,自殺未遂也高於其他族群。此外,還有來自社會固有的觀感.即便只是去雜貨店或看場電影,都變成了困難重重的事。而公開聲明的跨性者,往往都會失去家人、朋友、事業、人際關係,得在這種情況下生活著。這也是為何跨性者都選擇隱藏,如果公開,通常都伴隨著成功。

如果身處在時尚界,那前途會光明一些,這個產業並不會對不同而產生歧視。但其它地方,跨性者卻很少受到尊重。跨性別模特也同樣缺少工作機會,就算他們cisgendered也是如此。這種情況就向20年以前非洲裔模特的處境。

藉由Andreja的故事, Andrej(a) 將會深入探討全球各地對性別政治、美容產業、多元化的想法。從一個在巴爾幹半島的難民營到走上國際舞台,從少年時代到雙性化,以及成為女性.從隱藏到自我接納,這部紀錄片捕捉了一個人最大的夢想,就是真實、快樂、尋常的生活著。被人接受和尊重,一直以來她始終知道自己想要的樣貌。這是一個人勇敢公開爭取,身為一個人的基本需求。

 

為何選擇Kickstarter? 你能給予什麼支持!

我們已拍攝了近兩年.捕捉了Andreja生活裡的一些重要時刻,包括她從前雌雄莫辨的模樣,以及她面對和完成手術後的感受和經驗,她向世界公開她的跨性,以及emotional encounters with her mother. 我們現在的目標是捕捉"轉變後的人生。"

 Andreja的個人決定,將會對她的事業和公眾觀感有何影響?

這個產業對她的新轉變會如何回應?

這樣的轉變對她的私人關係又會有何影響?

諸如此類的這些問題仍未有答案,我們將會在鏡頭裡解答這些疑惑,現在,我們將繼續為期6個月的拍攝。為了完成這個目標,我們需要你的幫助! 我們回絕贊助商,透過全球網路來維持拍攝的自由並選擇獨立製片的方式。我們認為,這是一個對社會重大的故事,應該以學術、客觀、真實的方式來呈現,而不是必須通過層層批准或因應資方的廣告需求。我們期許這個"love project"能夠成為一個開始,在Eric和Andreja之間產生的紀錄片,能為潛在數百萬未能活出真實自我的人們帶來勇氣。以及你的幫助,讓我們一起讓這紀錄片得以成真。

你可能會問為何我們需要把目標定在$200,000美元。我們希望以最低預算來拍出最好的紀錄片。事實上,一部紀錄片一般預算約450000美元。有了你的幫忙和資助,我們可以涵蓋這部紀錄片的許多基本開銷;影像許可,音樂,隨身拍攝人員,紀錄她的工作和拜訪她的家園,後期製作,生產人員,法律費用,圖像,保險和器材。就如同所有的計劃一樣,這是一段帶有主題和故事的旅程,並希望能激勵身處在世界各地的人們,整個團隊非常感謝你提前為這部紀錄片能夠成真所做的支持。